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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology
Mitogenomic analysis for coelacanths (Latimeria chalumnae) caught in Tanzania
Gene, Volume 389, No. 1, Year 2007
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Description
In recent years, a large number of individuals of the species Latimeria chalumnae, one of the living fossil coelacanths, have been landed off the coast of Tanzania. Although L. chalumnae specimens have also been landed at other localities in the western Indian Ocean, so far, viable populations of this species have been identified only at two localities, Comoros and South Africa. Therefore, the recent active catch off Tanzania suggests a new habitat for L. chalumnae. To examine the genetic background of the Tanzanian fish, we analyzed complete mtDNA sequences of two Tanzanian individuals (Kigombe-9 and Songo Mnara-1) collected from the north and south coasts of Tanzania. Using the recently reported criteria for six haplotypes established in a population genetic study for coelacanths living in the western Indian Ocean [Schartl, M., Hornung, U., Hissman, K., Schauer, J., Fricke, H., 2005. Relatedness among east African coelacanths. Nature 435, 901.], we characterized Songo Mnara-1 as haplotype 1 and Kigombe-9 as haplotype 5. We suggest that the Songo Mnara specimen is a member of the Comoran group, but was swept away by the South Equatorial current. The individual from Kigombe may be a member of an undiscovered population that exists near the boundary between Tanzania and Kenya. Further analysis using more than 19 individuals recently captured off the north coast of Tanzania will reveal whether a new population exists there. Our sequence data suggest additional variable sites in the mtDNA sequence that may define the population structure of coelacanths in the western Indian Ocean and also raise the possibility that the previously published Comoran coelacanth mtDNA sequence contains several critical errors including base changes and indels. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Sasaki, Takeshi
Japan, Okazaki
National Institutes of Natural Sciences - National Institute for Basic Biology
Sato, Tetsu
Japan, Tokyo
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Miura, Seiko
Japan, Okazaki
National Institutes of Natural Sciences - National Institute for Basic Biology
Bwathondi, Philip Odoyo Joseph
Tanzania, Dar es Salaam
Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute Tafiri
Ngatunga, Benjamin P.
Tanzania, Dar es Salaam
Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute Tafiri
Okada, Norihiro
Japan, Okazaki
National Institutes of Natural Sciences - National Institute for Basic Biology
Japan, Tokyo
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Statistics
Citations: 10
Authors: 6
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.gene.2006.09.021
ISSN:
03781119
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Locations
Comoros
Kenya
South Africa
Tanzania